The announcement was made . . . ReFit would be having a boot
camp. Now I am a chunky monkey but I love ReFit and had survived another boot
camp previously. Although I never went back. I was excited and scared to death.
I convinced myself to go. Every day
leading up to Saturday. Then Saturday
morning came.
Saturday, January 18, 2013 after a week of waking up early;
not just a little early but the sun isn’t even thinking about coming up yet
early, I planned on sleeping in. Even if only until 7 am. I didn’t set an alarm
for that reason and decided I would go try out this boot camp if I happened to
wake up in time to be there. And of course I was up at 5 am that morning. No
excuses. So I went to Zumba at 10 am. Now reminder, I’m a big girl so after an
hour of that I am gross, sweaty and exhausted but since I am there, I stay. I
sign back in and Catherine puts me on a list of names that divides out the
teams. Little did I know what that was setting me up for. We got into a short
conversation and then the fun began.
Angela, Catherine and Emily were on the stage with the list
telling us what team we were on. Before they said that however, they made it
clear that we were not teams competing against each other but instead were
teams working together to push each other. I wasn’t sure how that would be but
I knew at the other boot camp I went to, that although I was not last (which
was my fear) I was clearly on the losing end, so I was willing to give it a
try. The competitor in me had to be put to the side. Then the teams were
called. Team One . . . Team Two . . . Team Three . . . I knew I would be picked
for a team but the little fat girl at recess came creeping out. Wanting to play
soccer and knowing I was good. But knowing I would be the last one picked and
would go to a team who didn’t want me. I knew it wasn’t the same and yet that
little girls insecurity came out in me as a grown woman. Team Four . . . Team
Five . . . Everyone was called. Everyone but me. My heart sank. I knew there
was no thing there. No intentions to exclude me. I saw her start to write my
name but then we were talking. Now all of these thoughts and emotions occurred
in a matter of milliseconds but what happened next is what I really heard. I
was told to pick a team to join when they realized I had been left off of the
team list. Of course I had no idea how to do that. I looked up at the teams to
see if they were all even when out of nowhere I was met with a surprise. One of
the teams yelled out “ Ivy come be on our team.” “We want you.” That was it. That was what I remember
most about that morning. It wasn’t because I looked athletic or tough. It
wasn’t because anyone on the team knew me . . . . I had never met a single one
of them. But it was because they were kind and because I needed that experience
I suppose.
So I jumped in with my team and we prepared for the butt
kicking that was to come. I was skeptical about this team idea when we weren’t
competing. But it was incredible. I met new friends and fought past our idea of
our limits together. I, with the help of the team that wanted me, pushed
through 90 minutes of insanity. The
thing to note here is that I met new people. Now I have been going to ReFit for
a while now . . . since it opened and before that when it was HotZTeam I was
faithful to be in class. But I am not the extrovert meeting anyone that walks
by or who I stand by. An occasional person here or there maybe but not really
my thing. This set up was perfect. I learned peoples names and they learned
mine. A place was created to do that which helps a person like me do something
outside of my norm and to grow.
And this is why I love ReFit. I am overweight. I need to
work out. I need to lose weight but ReFit is so much more. I knew that before
boot camp but I really knew it after boot camp. I cant go to any other fitness
facility and get everything that I get there. As a single female with more than
enough junk in my past trying to keep my head up and not drown. The ReFit
instructors have become my friends. With one thinking enough of me to remember
my name all those years ago when we met at Golds Gym where I was trying to make
it on my own. The other participants have become my cheerleaders. IN the chaos
of my world it’s a safe place to go. A place to go when the weight of life is
crushing me. A place I can go to celebrate and have fun. A place where my value
is not dependant on my shape or size. A place that I have value even if I
couldn’t dance to save my life. A place where truth is spoken and I am loved.
And Loved well. I was obviously already a fun of this wonderful fitness brand
but had to share how powerfully my life was impacted at boot camp.
No comments:
Post a Comment